Locations

South

Geographical boundaries of the Diocese of the South

Episcopal Succession:

The Right Reverend Frank Russell Knutti (1981-1983) The Right Reverend Tillman Beshore Williams (1983-1986) The Right Reverend William Oliver Lewis (1986- 1997) The Right Reverend Mark David Haverland (1998-present)

History

The Diocese of the South was formed in 1981 by an act of the Third Provincial Synod of the Anglican Catholic Church. It is comprised of the States of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, all of Florida east of the Apalachicola River, and the Eastern Grand Division of Tennessee.

Its first Bishop was the Right Reverend Frank Knutti, formerly rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Shamokin, PA. It was during the then Father Knutti's tenure that a nine year old girl in the parish spotted the image of Christ in the folds of a tabernacle veil following the Easter services. Afterwards over 50,000 people visited Trinity Episcopal to see the image in the veil.

Bishop Knutti's time in the South was relatively short, as was that of his successor, Tillman Williams. The next Bishop, however, was William Oliver Lewis, a former schoolteacher and priest from Michigan. Bishop Lewis had built one of the most successful parishes in the ACC, St. Paul's in Grand Rapids. He was also founder of the Anglican Parishes Association, a non profit book publisher serving the needs of traditional Anglicans throughout the world. After Archbishop Lewis Falk departed for another jurisdiction in 1991, Bishop Lewis was selected to take his place and became the second Archbishop in the history of the ACC's Original Province.

Archbishop Lewis died in 1997, and at the next diocesan synod, Father Mark Haverland of St. Stephen's parish in Athens, GA was elected as his successor. Under Bishop Haverland, the diocese experienced a period of stability and growth, adding several new parishes in areas such as Jacksonville, FL, Aiken, SC, and Gainesville, GA. In 2005 the ACC's College of Bishops selected Bishop Haverland as Archbishop and Metropolitan, a position he holds to this date.

The Most Reverend Mark Haverland: Diocese of the South

Bishop Ordinary

Born in Youngstown, Ohio in 1956, Mark Haverland was educated at Kenyon College (A.B).; Duquesne University (M.A.); and Duke University (Ph.D.), where he wrote his dissertation on the 17th century Anglican theologian, Henry Hammond. Ordained deacon in 1981 and priested in 1982, Archbishop Haverland has more than thirty years of experience as a clergyman within the Anglican Catholic Church.

Though he has served parishes in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Georgia, the majority of his career as a priest was spent as rector of St. Stephen’s parish in Athens, GA. In 1997 he was elected and consecrated to succeed the late William O. Lewis as Bishop Ordinary of the ACC's Diocese of the South.

Following the retirement of the Most Reverend John-Charles Vockler in 2005, the then Bishop Haverland was elected and enthroned as Archbishop and Metropolitan at the ACC’s 16th Provincial Synod in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Archbishop Haverland is author of Anglican Catholic Faith and Practice, an introduction to orthodox Anglican belief, which is available from the Anglican Parishes Association book publisher. He has also written articles and reviews for publications such as Touchstone, The New Oxford Review, and The Journal of Religion.

Diocesan Office and Officers

The Diocesan Office is located at the Procathedral of St. Stephen's in Athens, Georgia. To reach the Bishop, please contact the his administrative assistant, Mrs. Heli Dunn, either via email, or at the address below:

Diocese of the South800 Timothy RoadAthens, GA 30606706.546.6910

The Bishop is assisted in administration of the Diocese by various officers as laid out in the canons. Key personnel are listed below; for a complete list, please email the Diocesan Secretary.